Thursday, July 10, 2008
North Korea returns to nuclear disarmament talksThe United States responded to the nuclear declaration by easing some trade sanctions and beginning the process of taking the North off its list of state sponsors of terrorism.
South Korean and US officials said one main focus this week would be working out how to verify the atomic declaration, while the North has signalled it wants to be fully rewarded for its latest steps towards disarmament.
The declaration was a key part of the so-called "second phase" of the agreement, with the first phase seeing North Korea shut down its main plutonium-producing reactor at
Yongbyon in July last year. It then began disabling the plant under the supervision of US inspectors in November, and last month blew up the cooling tower at Yongbyon in a gesture intended to demonstrate its commitment to disarmament.
The Yongbyon plant was the source of the material the North used to conduct its first atomic test in 2006.
However the North's declaration only covered its nuclear facilities and the production of the plutonium, not its weapons or a suspected programme involving highly enriched uranium that can also be used to make bombs.
A North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said on July 4 that while 80 per cent of the Yongbyon facility had been disabled, only 40 per cent of the promised energy aid had been delivered.
The third and final phase of the disarmament deal calls for the North to permanently dismantle its atomic plants and hand over all nuclear material and weaponry. In return, it would receive wide-ranging energy aid benefits, as well as a restoration of diplomatic ties with the United States and Japan. - AFP/ir